IELTS Band Scores and Marking Criteria - IELTS Guide

IELTS Band Scores and Marking Criteria

The IELTS test, otherwise known as the International English Language Testing System, is a standardised test of international repute to adjudge the proficiency of non-native speakers of the English language. The composition and content of the test is attributed to the British Council, IELTS Australia Chapter and Cambridge English Language Assessment. There are of course other major English language assessment tests in the world like TOEFL. The acceptance of the IELTS stretches far out to Canadian, New Zealand, Australian and British academic institutions essentially, however there are now over three thousand (3000) American academic institutions as well who accept them. The importance of taking the test expands so far out that it is no longer limited to those seeking an admissions in academic institutions of these countries but it is also has become necessary for anybody and anyone who seeks to get a visa for these countries; that is to say, that if one is applying for a visa to UK, Australia, New Zealand or Canada, the respective immigration authorities would expect the taking and requirement of their declared minimum score, based on their discretion as a criterion in the acceptance process of the visa application. There is no reason for those who have already taken the test to fret naturally, as the test scores of the IELTS test remain valid for up to a period of two (2) years

These scores in the IELTS are measure in bands –

1. Band 0 (for those who did not even attempt the test),
2. Band 1 (a Non-User and someone who basically does not have any ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words),
3. Band 2 (an Intermittent user who cannot really communicate with the exception of the most basic information using isolated words or short and brief sentences in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs wherein the candidate finds great difficulty understanding spoken and written English),
4. Band 3 (the candidate is an extremely limited user who is able to convey and comprehend only general meaning in very familiar situations and experiences considerable breakdowns in communication),
5. Band 4 (the candidate is limited user with only basic competence in limited and closely familiar situations. In this band the candidate is adjudged as having fair amount of challenge in understanding and expression and is not able to use complex language),
6. Band 5 (deemed a modest user who has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes and ought to be able to handle basic communication in own field),
7. Band 6 (deemed to be a competent user who has general effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies and can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations),
8. Band 7 (candidate is a good user who has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies and can manage complex language well and understand detailed reasoning),
9. Band 8 (candidate is a very good user who has complete operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies wherein misunderstandings may occur in unfamiliar situations and the candidate is able to handle complex detailed argumentation well), and
10. Band 9 (wherein the candidate is deemed an expert user who has full operational command of the language which is completely appropriate, accurate and fluent).

In India especially, choosing the right coaching is of the utmost importance for many of those who claim to be experts in the English language will callously pass off common errors and mistakes all people make while speaking, reading or writing in English. As language is ever evolving the right coaching centre also ensures that its mentors and teachers remain constantly up to date with the relevance of terms, obsoleteness of old rules of the language and application of new ones. WisdomMart, as intuitively as its name suggests, is one such coaching institutions in India that offer legitimate language coaching services. It boasts mentors and teachers who have either lived overseas or trained overseas or both. It continually follows the progress of its students and offers them a deep concentration of easy to refer to study materials and applies constant evaluation of the student’s/candidate’s progress through their well-structured and close-to-call mock papers. At WisdomMart, the policy of teaching functions on the principle that no doubt is too big, too small or too silly. Students are encouraged to question openly and their concerns are always met with the highest standards of cooperation. Many of those who have taken IELTS coaching at WisdomMart constantly exceed their performance expectations and are trained to keep an eye on achieving the highest band score in the test when they take it.